The Mountains and Winds of Hope
by PraxMatic
Summary: Izuku buried his dreams of being a hero that night in the playground. 6 years later, he meets Kendou Itsuka, and discovers that those dreams never truly left him.
1. Buried Dreams

This is a re-upload of my own story. I needed to preface it saying one thing - _the second chapter is 100 times better than whatever the fuck is below this preface._

* * *

"Fucking Deku, came to protect a wimp and you can't even protect yourself? Guess that's what having a shitty ass quirk like yours gets you! Do me a favor and stay down, before I have to try to make you!"

Izuku didn't move. Staying down was his specialty. At this point, that's all his quirk was worth for. "That's what I thought, Deku. Let's get of here, guys. It reeks of uselessness."

The exchange was over. Izuku wiped the tears off of his face. Then, inexplicably, he smiled. The same Deku who was useless and weak and awful, was absolutely ecstatic. "I-I did it! I saved someone! I knew I could do it, all I had to do was try! I can be a hero like All Might!" Izuku felt weightless as he giddily got up and ran to the other person. "Are you okay? Kacchan can be a bit rough, sorry, he isn't really being mean, he just-" Izuku stopped. In a single moment, he could feel himself being pulled to earth with every ounce of joy leaving his body. He went cold. Something was very, very wrong. As he looked at the kid, he didn't see happiness he was expecting. He saw the same, infuriated face that Kacchan had.

"Why did you come help me?"

Izuku was confused. It didn't sound like gratitude. Didn't he want help? "U-um, you looked like you were in tr-"

"I don't want YOUR help, Izuku! If they see me hanging around you, I'll just get bullied more! Stay away from me!" With that, the kid ran away. The playground was empty.

Izuku could handle Kacchan's bullying. He could handle that Kacchan thought his quirk was useless. He could handle to nervous laughs of the teachers when all he talked about was how he wanted to be a hero, just like All Might. His goal was to be a hero, and he was going to do it! He knew he could do it. He would do it. He would save people with a smile!

Izuku couldn't handle this. The torment was was over, but the tears returned to him like a waterfall. Why? He only wanted help people, and they didn't even want his help. Why was the world so unfair? Why was he so useless? Nothing he did was ever good enough. He only made it worse. He was useless. Useless Deku. He couldn't even save one person. This hurt more than Kacchan ever could. The tears kept flowing. They were the only things that kept him company. Izuku convinced himself - he couldn't be a hero. He would keep taking notes on them - he had nothing else to do with his time. He didn't have any friends, anyway. But he could never be one of them. He told himself his quirk was useless, and could never be used for what he wanted it to. He was a victim of circumstance - there was nothing he could've done differently. The world was just unfair. That much would be easier than holding on to a fake dream, held together by string. Izuku stood there, chained to the earth, for the rest of the night. His dreams would stay there for nearly 6 years.


	2. Three Very different encounters

Hey, y'all actually liked it enough to read to chapter 2! Through the power of time skipping and poor narrative opportunities, we arrive a convenient 6 years later. Huzzah!

* * *

"Midoriya was planning on attending UA as well, no?"

Midoriya went numb. Why did the teacher have to say it out loud? It just made the whole idea sound stupider in Midoriya's head. The classroom broke into murmurs.

"UA? The same school Bakugou wants to go to? Is he crazy?"

"There's no way he can get in!"

"Sure, he has a quirk, but it's so weak...he wouldn't last a day."

"I thought he gave up on being a hero?"

"DEKU, YOU FUCKING SHITRAG!" Well, except for Kacchan, who got up and very, very carefully...grabbed Izuku by the collar and lifted him from his seat. "UA? YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU THINK YOU'RE ON MY LEVEL! HOW MANY TIMES TO I HAVE TO PUT IT INTO YOUR HEAD? YOU ARE BELOW ME! UA IS THE TOP HEROICS SCHOOL IN ALL OF JAPAN, AND I'M GONNA BE THE FIRST STUDENT FROM THIS SHITTY C-LIST TO SCHOOL TO GET IN! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS INSIST ON TRYING TO COMPETE WITH ME?"

This was bad. Izuku had meant to keep it a secret he was planning on going to UA. He hadn't even discussed it with his mom yet, because he was afraid she would try to change his mind. He needed to get out of this conversation now., before he was thoroughly cooked by Kacchan. "I-I'm not trying to compete with you Kacchan, I'm not even going into heroics! I enrolled in general studies because UA has a really prestigious educational program and I thought that-"

"SHUT IT." Kacchan's voice suddenly took a very serious tone. He looked at Izuku, and narrowed his eyes. "You know what? Fine. Go to your stupid general studies department. We all know you'll pass, because you spend all of your time studying 'cause you don't have any friends. You can go there, graduate, and get the fuck out. And nobody will fucking care, because it's the General studies department at fucking UA high. Me? I'll be in the heroics. People will know who I am. I don't fucking care you what you do. You know why? Because you're below me." Izuku was stunned. Not because he was scared, but because for the first time in years Kacchan wasn't being horrible to him. Sure, it was indifference, but he wasn't cruel. He didn't know what to do in front of calm Bakugou, because calm Bakugou didn't exist in his world. He hadn't had any time to prepare for what he should say because he didn't know what do to.

"U-um, ok kacchan, i'll just go and sit down now and-"

"I'm not done." Izuku could feel himself being pulled to earth. Oh god, What did kacchan want now? His lunch money? No, too cliche...maybe he wanted add another insult. After all, he would always- "GOD, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE NOT TALKING I CAN STILL HEAR YOU FUCKING MUTTERING." Bakugou exhaled deeply in frustration. "There's one thing I want you to know, Deku." What? Was Kacchan trying to help him? Silence ensued.

"U-uh, w-what would that thing b-be, Kacchan?" Oh god, the suspense was killing him faster and faster by the second.

If Kacchan's eyebrows could be any more burrowed, they could pass as the letter V. "Under no circumstance do you ever, EVER, think your anything more than a kid with weak ass quirk. You're not important. You're not the protagonist in some corny ass book. I am. And if I ever even fucking hear ANYTHING about you, in any circumstance, I will blow you up so bad that they'll be putting you back together for weeks. You understand? And should you do anything that takes the praise and attention I should be getting onto you..." His fists exploded several times. "Do. You. Fucking. Understand. Me." Izuku gulped.

"Y-yes, I do." With that, Kacchan released his grip of Izuku and returned to his desk. The class was collectively relieved there were no casualties for the incident. Midoriya's brain scrambled to understand the situation that had just unfolded. Okay, so go into UA and do nothing. Be nothing. Sounds easy enough. It wouldn't be much different from how it is now. After all, Kacchan was right. He stood no chance against him. He was, in every sense of the word, below Kacchan. It's not like this was anything new to him, he had buried his dreams over 6 years ago. He accepted that he couldn't be a hero. And that was ok. Six years of self-deprecation and denial had prepared him to expect nothing. He would get into UA, graduate, and make enough money to repay his mother for all the kindness she had given to him. That was the least he could do, he thought. The teacher called out the next students future form, and the classroom returned to the normal run of operations. For some reason, Izuku could feel something pulling at his chest. "Probably some fear activation of my quirk...I'll write it down later." But Izuku knew, deep down, this was not his quirks doing. He just wasn't ready to accept that.

* * *

As the day ended and the class dismissed, Izuku thanked his lucky stars that Kacchan was one of he first ones out of the doors. He didn't know if he could handle two of Kacchan's outbursts in a single day-even if they were as seemingly calm as this one. He packed his stuff up, slowly, he noted, to ensure there absolutely, positively, no possible chance of him running into Kacchan on his way home. He had made it through the day, no point in pushing his luck. However; as he was fully packed and ready to leave (10 minutes after dismissal), and unfamiliar voiced called out to him.

"Hey, Midoriya, are you sure you're ok?"

"H-h-huh?" Izuku hadn't even turned around, but he was already breaking out into a cold sweat. The voice that called his name- _his name_ \- was high pitched. A pitch that could only belong to a girl. He mind broke out into a million thoughts a second. Why was anyone talking to him? Why is _a girl_ talking to him? Had he done something wrong? He had definitely done something wrong. What had he done wrong? Why has he not responded yet? God, now she thinks he's a creep, nice going Midoriya. He slowly turned around to face the girl. He didn't recognize her. From what he could tell, they were nearly the exact same height (if not the same), but that's where the similarities ended. She had light, blue eyes, in contrast with his dark green, and was much fitter physically. What he noted most, however, was her long, orange hair that was fitted into a ponytail on the side of her head and oh god Izuku you still haven't said anything what are you doing-

"Jeez, you're sweating up a storm! There's no way you're okay, no one recovers from a Bakugou attack that well. I can take you to the nurses office if you need to go," The stranger said. She gave her words in a way that seemed to carry no harm. She wasn't pitying him. She was actually concerned. Izuku managed to finally muster up an on-time, regular sentence.

"U-uh, n-no that's f-fine I'm k-kinda used to it, really. Thank y-you for the offer." He could feel the light draining from him faster and faster. Just from looking at the girl, Izuku knew he couldn't let her deal with his problems. She was too nice to be treated that way by him. He didn't want to cause any more trouble than he already had, especially for someone uninvolved.

"Absolutely no-can do." _What?_ "You look like death, and getting worse. I'm taking you to the infirmary for your own good. Come on, let's go." Oh god, she wasn't giving it up. This was too much. How could someone so nice even acknowledge his existence? Izuku ran out of outs. He was trapped between his draining stomach and the exuberant aura coming from this girl. He felt his conscience fading. All he saw before collapsing was the girl running towards him, saying something. Izuku didn't quite catch it.

* * *

Izuku's eyes slowly opened. The space around was dark and blurry. He shifted uncomfortably. Where was he? Izuku racked his brain. Last he remembered, he was in his classroom. He was just about to go home and...then someone talked to him, yeah, and then-"THE GIRL!" He shouted as he immediately bolted upright. Oh god, what had he done? He was talking to a girl and then this happened, he's in the school infirmary, and-

"Glad to see you're finally awake, Izuku. You gave Miss Itsuka quite the scare!" a voice said. Izuku looked towards the one and only school Nurse, Mrs. Shiozaki. Ah yes, this was the second thing he should have thanked his lucky stars for. He was a frequent visitor of Miss Shoizaki, for reasons that she never pried into, but probably knew anyways. In terms of what you would call a "friend", she was probably one of the only ones he had. It turns out if you visit the same person weekly, for the same reasons, you get to know each other pretty well. She was a very calming person, and Izuku was very happy to have her in company.

"Hi Miss Shiozaki!" Izuku said happily. Suddenly, all of his worries left him. Okay, maybe her presence was a bit _too_ calming.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Izuku?" Miss Shiozaki said, as if expecting some reaction. What? What was he forgetting? He just came in here to-

"THE GIRL AGAIN! Is she okay? Please don't tell me she had to carry me here. I really am fine. She's okay, right-"

"For someone who fainted due to a 39 Degree fever, you seem to be awfully unconcerned about your own health. Before you faint again, yes, Miss Itsuka is fine. And yes, to your utter dismay, she was kind enough to bring you to the infirmary before you broke into flames. She only left about 5 minutes ago." Speechless. Izuku was infuriated with himself. He had made the girl - Itsuka-Chan - go out of her way to bring her here. He had involved her in his problems. Useless. She probably thought he was a pervert - fainting in front of a cute girl like that. Wait, cute? Izuku groaned. This whole situation messed him up in the head. Inexplicably, Izuku thought back to 6 years ago. Nothing had changed. He was still useless. Unknown to Miss Shiozaki, he started to tear up. Useless, Useless, Useless, _Useless-_

"You should be very thankful. When she came in, she was nearly in tears. She told me you had just fainted in the middle of the classroom. She was so angry with herself because she couldn't do anything for you, Izuku. She thought she was the problem." Izuku looked up at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. And he certainly wasn't ready for what he was about to hear next.

"Just like you do, Izuku."

Izuku cried, but it wasn't just tears coming out. Everything he told himself for the past years seemed to bloat up to the surface. Miss Shiozaki stayed quiet. She knew that Midoriya had needed an experience like this the first time he came into her office. She knew that a person like Midoriya needed a person like Itsuka. They both remained in that office until Midoriya had cried and cried, till there was nothing left to cry about. Silence.

No words were needed. They both understood what the other had meant. Izuku checked the clock - 7:30pm. School had ended at 3:45. Why had Itsuka-Chan stayed so long? She didn't need to. She didn't need to - " _but she did,"_ he thought. He would have to thank her tomorrow, for everything she had done. It was the least he could do. Izuku grabbed his bag and walked to the exit of the infirmary. He stopped, and turned back to Miss Shiozaki, who was smiling.

"Thank you."


End file.
